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2 in 3 SMEs to embrace cashless payments by 2023

They are also shunning the use of cheques.

Two in 3 (66%) of Singapore small and medium enterprises (SMEs) admitted that they are likely to do away with cash and cheque for their customer and supplier dealings and go cashless by 2023, according to a survey by OCBC.

In fact, nearly half (45%) of SMEs anticipated going cashless ahead of schedule by embracing e-payments as early as 2020.

This follows a cheque free target by 2025 set by Minister of Education Ong Ye Kung at an earlier speech to the Association of Banks in Singapore as the government aims to foster the adoption of e-payments in line with its Smart Nation drive.

Ong added that the share of cheques as a proportion of Singaporean payments using FAST, GIRO and cheques fell from 37% in 2015 to 28% in 2017, with the goal of bringing it down further to 15% by 2020 and eradicate it completely in five years.

However, much of Singapore’s e-payments adoption has been focused on the customer, highlighting the need for businesses to play a greater role in the cashless push, Melvyn Low, head of global transaction banking at OCBC Bank said in a statement.

This is where the impending launch of PayNow for businesses, a peer-to-peer fund transfer business using only mobile and NRIC number, is integral to meeting Singapore’s Smart Nation goals, OCBC added.

“From the sustained, strong response to PayNow from our customers, we are confident that there will be a significant reduction in cash and cheque use. As banker to 1 in 2 SMEs in Singapore, we have a responsibility to make sure that our customers understand how PayNow, and e-payments as a whole, can benefit their business,” added Low.

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